the america that made him, and the country's return to success must be founded. to suc founded. that's hardball for now. "countdown with keith olbermann" starts right now. have a good night. which of these stories will you be talking about tomorrow? it is not that difficult a question, sarah palin. koran burning. for, against, thoughts? 1:46 p.m. edt no comment. 5:13 p.m. edt koran burning is insensitive, unnecessary. pastor jones, please stand down. the governor of mississippi -- >> i don't think there is any excuse for it. >> defense secretary gates endorses the petraeus warning about the risk to u.s. forces as does general odierno. >> i'm worried it will turn into violence against our troops in iraq, afghanistan, and other places as well. >> and the man at the center of

the hateful exercise -- >> we have no intention of counseling. >> the counterballots, the memphis congregation which has loaned its church to worshipers building an islamic center, literally next door. our special guests in their first joint interview, pastor steve stone and center chairman dr. bashar shallah. presidential punch. >> if we're going to give tax breaks to companies they should go to companies that create jobs here in america, not that create jobs overseas. that's one difference between the republican vision and the democratic vision. that's what this election is all about. >> all politics is local. also, a lot of stupidity is local. a would-be republican congressman from ohio insists, hands off states civil rights. >> we need to get the federal government out of the way and allow our local governments to become more involved. >> scooter libby is back.

>> i learned two things from this. one is the world is not just. and the second is it doesn't do a lot of good to whine. >> and, yet, whine he did. and the quote of the year perhaps from senator ensign from nevada. if you don't hold us accountable, we'll do some real bad things in washington, d.c. ah, do? all the news and commentary now on "countdown."ç >> i will not be taking any questions. good evening from new york. we are two days and just under 22 hours until a florida church consisting of 50 members plans to hold a book burning to destroy one book. the koran. their right to do so is not in question. the wisdom, purpose, and impact of the act has been not just questioned but challenged not for reasons of political correctness as much as those apply as well but for the fact it will hand the taliban and al qaeda a massive propaganda tool

to recruit and inspire those who would kill u.s. troops, u.s. civilians, and u.s. partners in the fight against extremist islamist terrorism. those sounding the alarm against the book burning include leaders of all major faiths, the u.s. government, u.s. military, and nato. in our fifth story tonight with a handful of new exceptions the leadership of the republican party today has no position on a religious based book burning that will endanger the lives of u.s. troops but some of those who do have an opinion say burning a koran is just as bad as building an islamic center. today general petraeus told "stars and stripes" he found it inexplicable fellow citizens would put the troops in great danger and told brian williams images of burning korans would dog the u.s. forever. >> our concern, brian, is that such and act would jeopardize safety of our soldiers and our civilians, even our afghan partners, because it is the police and soldiers of the afghan forces who would have to confront the kind of demonstrations that we're afraid

would erupt in the wake of such an action. we are concerned the images from the burning of the koran would be used in the same way extremists used images from abu ghraib, that they would in a sense be indelible. they would be on cyber space forever. they would be nonbiodegradable and used by those who wish us will to incite violence and inflame public opinion against us and our mission here in afghanistan as well as our missions undoubtedly around the world. >> the former u.s. commander in iraq echoed petraeus's concerns today. >> most muslims are very moderate and what you have is extremists. what this does is this feeds ç right into what they want. what they feed off is hate and fear and they will use this to generate more hate what that

will turn into is potentially more violence against u.s. troops. >> it is a tiny church. there are 50 members of this church and i hate to say it, if we weren't paying them any attention right now, this might occur in a vacuum. but in this da and age of the internet, will those images immediately make their way to the streets in the muslim world? >> they will. >> what will the result be? >> again, i think there will be some backlash and you started to see some already. i worry it will turn into violence against our troops in iraq, afghanistan, and other places as well. >> also condemning the koran burning, the secretary general of nato, u.s. general heading nato training in afghanistan, the head of the u.n. mission in afghanistan, u.s. defense secretary gates, secretary of state clinton, attorney general holder, presidential adviser axelrod, new york mayor bloomberg, senator lieberman, and the group my good deed created by family members of those who died on 9/11 calling the koran burning, quote, an insult to the victims of 9/11 and the many brave individuals who have risen in defense of our nation. today a handful of republicans have now come out against the koran burning.

former and likely future republican presidential hopeful mitt romney said it best. burning the koran is wrong. it puts troops in danger and violates a founding principle of our republic. mississippi governor haley barbour came close when he was asked about it. >> i do not think well of the idea of burning anybody's koran, bible or book of mormon or anything else. i don't think there is any excuse for it. >> senator lindsay graham, replied to "countdown's" request for a statement this afternoon, quoting him "i very much share general petraeus' concern about how such actions could further jeopardize the safety of our soldiers. we should not make our soldiers' job even harder and their service more dangerous. house republican leader john boehner merely called the koran burning not wise but could not resist equating the burning of one religion's scripture with

the building of a religious center." >> secretary of state clinton, general petraeus have spoken out against it. what is your message for pastor jones? >> for pastor jones and those who want to build the mosque just because you have a right to do something in america does not mean it is the right thing to do. we're a nation of religious ç freedom. we're also a nation of tolerance. i think in the name of tolerance people ought to think about the kind of actions they're taking. >> so you're telling them not to do it? sir, you're telling them not to do it? >> listen, i just think it's not wise to do this in the face of what our country really represents. and over some, you know, 234 years. >> at 1:46 eastern today sarah palin's people gave us a no comment in reply to our second request in two days but at some point in the following 3 1/2 hours somebody reconsidered because at 5:13 her facebook page said burning the koran, quote, is insensitive and an unnecessary provocation much like, wait for it, building a mosque at ground zero.

former president george w. listened to petraeus. bush whose legacy includes largely positive leadership on this subject declineour request for comment yesterday. newt gingrich's people told us today, quote, we'll pass, thanks. yet to even do that, the republican chairman, house whip, senate leader, senate armed service members, sessions and collins, keep america safe founder liz cheney whose home page at her site does not even mention the danger petraeus has identified, and senator john mccain whose campaign come patri patriots are now on record against the koran burning, who demanded we listen to general petraeus, who once had the credibility to tell his own supporters, no, ma'am, barack obama is not an arab. john mccain is still silent tonight. the heart song church in cordoba, tennessee has opened

its doors to the faithful of the memphis islamic center still building its own complex right next door. it is a sense of community that offers a different version and vision of america. thanks to pastor steve stone and dr. bashar shalah, chairman of the memphis islamic center. they join us tonight in their first joint interview. thank you for doing so. >> my pleasure. >> thank you. >> i want to get to the threatened koran building and new york islamic center and all that but your experience seemed potentially instructive. as i understand pastor stone you started this up when you put this sign up in your church is that correct? >> yes. it was about a year and a half ago we read in the newspaper that memphis islamic center had bought the land adjacent to us and as fast as we could get up a sign we put up a big red sign that said welcome to the neighborhood memphis islamic center. >> doctor, how did you hear about that sign other than perhaps just seeing it? what was your reaction?ç >> absolutely. it was overwhelming. you couldn't miss the sign. it was really a sign that gave us a lot of joy and comfort, and told us that we have neighbors

that are welcoming us. and what followed the sign was even larger and more gracious. the actions of the heartsong church towards our community. >> that was to basically let you use the hall, correct? >> absolutely. >> what has your experience been like, in memphis, especially since this controversy has been whipped up over an islamic center in downtown manhattan a couple blocks away from ground zero? >> i've been in memphis for over 20 years and memphis has been a community of faith. we really have a very good interfaith relationships. just recently and during this month in ramadan we had an interfaith dinner event that there was over 450 people from different faiths that shared that dinner together. there's been a lot of support. the positives overwhelm the negatives. and we have a lot of help especially from our neighbors in our community. >> pastor stone, this pastor jones in florida says he feels he needs to take a stand against radical islam and obviously whatever he believes in, the god he believes in does not have a problem at least so far with

burning the koran. if you simply disagree on christian teaching about this, how do you reach this man? >> i'm not really sure how you reach him. the way we try to reach everyone is to have a loving witness to them. i heard him on a station the other day saying about radical islamists that these are people you just cannot reason with and i thought that was the pot calling the kettle black. >> beautifully summarized. dr. shala, i know you have not followed that story in florida but the associated press has reported in afghanistan some muslims are upset about this and because they seem to believe that, one, the president would have the power to stop it and, two, because he is not going to stop it the koran burning reflects some sort of official american sentiment. apart from the issue of florida, how do we or would you convey to muslims in the mid east or afghanistan that our government does permit things to happen even when it disagrees with those things?

>> well, keith, if you don't live freedom, it sometimes is hard to fathom what freedom really means. that's part of the problem of communicating with those who do not enjoy what we have.ç to me what it really means for us in the united states is for us to really understand what this freedom means, how much of a privilege this is, but the responsibility that comes with that privilege and how we are responsible for those who defend our rights to have these freedoms. >> well, given your assessment of that, how would, in a broader sense, how would you think america should sell itself essentially to muslims in the mid east as a society in which muslims are free to exercise their rights not because they're muslims or not muslims but because everybody is free to express those rights? >> i think i would share positive stories like what we're doing here tonight to show that people have the choice and the freedom to do good and the

freedom not to choose not to do good if they want to. >> pastor stone, can you assess for us this equivalence people like john boehner and sarah palin have drawn between burning a koran and building an islamic center? >> you know, to me it's just that the people across the street from us are muslims and jesus has taught us to love our neighbors and we're loving them and they're loving us back. i don't see any comparison. >> since you mentioned that the story like this is a good message to people about what this is really about, is there anything you want to add to our understanding of what's going on in memphis or in this larger picture that's suddenly come upon us in this country? >> i would just love to see more of the heartsong memphis islamic center stories all over the nation. i believe these stories do exist and i would like to express my gratitude to pastor stone and his flock for the loving and

welcoming that they have shown us and i thank you for having me on your show, keith. >> thank you. and pastor stone, your final thoughts to add to this? >> it's just been our honor to host our neighbors. and we're really enjoying getting to know them. >> gentlemen, many thanks and not just for the interview. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. domestic politics can as you know turn on a dime. get out your roll of dimes. the republicans' historic polling lead among registered voters contemplating the congressional vote completely erased in one week. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration. plus vitamin d to help maintain healthy blood pressure. [ bat cracks ] that's a hit. one a day men's. but now, to get it really cooking, you need a little website development. some transparent reporting, so you know it's working.

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the ten-point poll lead among registered voters vanished in one week and today the president beat the orange out of him. this is the would-be junior most member of ohio's republican congressional delegation. he thinks civil rights should be left to the states. supposedly this senator met all elected officials not just himself and his libido when he

said, quote, if you don't hold us accountable we'll do some real bad things in washington, d.c. and scooter libby is back now with 75% more self-martyrdoç ahead on "countdown." [ engine revving ] [ male announcer ] the u.s. government may soon require brake override technology on all new cars and trucks. at nissan, we think this is a good idea. so we did it... ...six years ago. [ wind howling ]

nissan. innovation for safety. innovation for all. just 55 days until the 2010 mid term elections but nearly 300 since john boehner started whining about president obama. the president fully responded for the first time today and evidently boehner has a glass jaw and a proclivity for as he goes down hitting himself in the nose. in our fourth story the president not only refused to compromise on extending tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of americans. he basically dared john of orange and his fellow

republicans to insist on those tax breaks. and indeed that is part of mr. boehner's two-step plan to create jobs, unveiled today. meantime the gallup poll that gave republicans an unprecedented ten-point edge in the mid term elections has reverted back to zero. the party is dead even in one week. to the minority leader's home state where the president gave another major speech reflecting the stark choice for november. in cleveland the president called for tax cuts for businesses but offered no compromise on allowing bush tax cuts to expire for the wealthiest americans.ç >> with all the republicans' talk about wanting to shrink the deficit they would have us borrow $700 billion over the next ten years to give a tax cut of about $100,000 each to folks who are already millionaires. so let me be clear to mr. boehner and everybody else. we should not hold middle class tax cuts hostage any longer.

we are ready this week if they want to give tax cuts to every american making $250,000 or less. that's 98%, 97% of americans. >> the president correctly noted the republicans are even blocking ideas they would normally support including a small business package that is stalled in the senate. >> they're making the same calculation they made just before my inauguration. if i fail, they win. well, they might think that this will get them to where they want to go in november but it won't get our country going where it needs to go in the long run. it won't get us there. it won't get us there. >> mr. boehner meantime fired the day's opening salvo with the release of house republicans' two step plan on jobs and spending and two step it is.

number one cut nonsecurity related spending to 2008 levels, with some exceptions for programs affecting seniors and veterans. number two, freeze all current tax rates for two years. that would obviously include, yep, the bush tax cuts for the rich. >> why wouldn't we work together to make it clear that all current tax rates will be extended for the next two years? >> so you're open -- >> what that will do is help small businesses who have no clue what the coming tax rates are going to be, gives them some certainty. >> and the very latest now on polls that are predicting doom for the democrats. except when they don't predict that. the gallup survey of registered voters on party preference for the mid-term elections. last week it measured the largest republican advantage in 68 years of gallup asking that question. but now after five weeks of the republicans in the lead, it's back to even. as we noted then and repeat now the lead has switched between the two parties more than half a dozen times since just may. let's turn to the cofounder and editor-in-chief of the

huffington post, arianna huffington and also author of the newly released "third worldç america, how our politicians are abandoning the middle class and the american dream." good to see you. >> good to see you. >> did the president draw a line on tax breaks for the wealthy? is that it today? and was there something else going on with him? because he looked to use his phrase, fired up. >> yes. he did. i wish he had been as fired up for the last 20 months as he was today. >> yeah. >> this was definitely the best speech we've gotten from him since he's been in the white house. there is no question that he drew a clear line in the sand. it was really like a moat that you fill with water and man eating crocodiles. there was absolutely no doubt about it. not only that, but he made it very clear that there is a lot of hypocrisy going on among those republican deficit hawks who are willing to extend our deficit to $700 billion over the next ten years and they keep

using this canard about how it's going to be good for jobs when in fact all he is asking is put the tax rates back to where they were during the clinton years when, after all, it didn't stop us from creating 22 million jobs. >> right, right. >> so that is a really good day. but as you know, one speech does not change the narrative. >> all right. so if he is going to change the narrative and it is this contrast and it is as stark and as fired up as that one was, what are the other rich areas to mine? >> well, he needs to actually keep making it clear that he is for the middle class and the republicans are not. and that being for the middle class is not a left wing issue. this is really the foundation of america. i've spent a whole year writing this book on the assault on the middle class and making it very clear that nobody, not even the super rich, that john boehner supports would want to live in a country that is really a third world country when the middle class crumbles and have the super rich and everyone else, super rich living behind gates

with their kids protected by security guards against kidnapping. that is not america. that is not the america of upward mobility, the american dream. remember, during the campaign obama said that the middle class was his north star. >> right. that was really the essence of the campaign. >> then how did the populist premise get purloined by the tea party and what do the democrats do to get it back before the midterms? >> there is something legitimate about it being purloined.ç there is legitimate anger. there were things that happened in terms of the very loud, wall street being bailed out and main street suffering, that democrats and republicans were all responsible for allowing that to happen. it was easier for those who are not in charge, who are not in control of the white house, the house, and the senate, to be the beneficiaries of that legitimate anger. then of course the demagogues came in and turned to the illegitimate parts of what they

were offering, you know, the anti-immigration sentiment, basically opposing everything except those who want tax cuts. but there is still time to change things. i don't know if there is time to change the outcome for november because those cards were dealt a long time ago. but there is time to change what the country really believes. >> but if since may as we pointed out that generic house party identification number has changed six times including going from a record ten-point margin last week for the republicans to a tie this week, this may be much more in flux than people are being led to believe. >> yeah. the key here is we are talking about registered voters. as we know the mid term elections are going to be about likely voters. so who is going to turn out? is it going to be the hyperenthusiastic republicans or the more disappointed and frustrated democrats? and that's really the dynamic

that the president has an opportunity to change. >> and if he doesn't -- >> and if he doesn't, we're going to have speaker boehner, not a good prospect. >> and a third world america. arianna huffington, author of a book of the same name. again, a pleasure to see you as always. >> thank you. a republican candidate is suggesting that states should trump federal law on civil rights. sure, because that works so well during jim crow. defended against the bad gas, diarrhea and constipation. ...and? it helped balance her colon. oh, now that's the best part. i love your work. [ female announcer ] phillips' colon health.

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civil rights are states

rights said a would be republican congressman. no, now. not in 1957, now. first the sanity break. i'm on the "late night with david letterman" tonight. not bad. two segments. black angels appear. paul shaffer conducts the orchestra. and the tweet of the day from our friend andy borowitz. bad news for the koran-burning dude in florida. it's available on kindle. and somewhere pastor jones just looked up and said, somebody say kindling? let's play "oddball." we begin in england with the great penny race. every ten years people from around the globe gather to ride old time bikes. the race features original dandy horse machines, bone shakers and penny farthing cycles also known as bikes with big wheels on them. the riders attempt to stay on the bikes and complete as many

laps as they can in three hours. there was some controversy this year after this year's winner tested positive for stilts. to taiwan and it's the day to honor the british prime minister who said ambition in politics is like climbing a greasy pole. no? would you believe it's the last day of the chinese ghost month? organizers coated 12 poles with 250 gallons of oil and grease after making it rain on the pole the starting drum is hit and they're off. there is much rejoicing. most formed human ladders though there was the occasional solo artist. he was able to make it to the top and claim the $949 prize which unfortunately will not cover his drycleaning bill or get him elected to prime minister. finally to the internet, the dancing ken doll. researchers have finally dance moves for men. everybody take notes.

this is the example of poor dancing. i'm looking for my keys. that doesn't look so bad. let's see the example of good dancing. that's right. they studied dancers from a '70s disco. no funky chicken? but if that's what researchers say works who am i to question? after all, who better to show them how to dance than scient t scientists? the next time you see someone on the dance floor doing the running man he is not dancing harder. he's dancing smarter. governor orrville of little rock infamy is smiling just now. the republican candidate for congress in ohio insists civil rights and diversity should be left for the states to figure out, next. ♪ express yourself ♪ ♪ express yourself ♪ ♪ oh, do it ♪ oh, do it ♪ ♪ express yourself [ female announcer ] coffee is like life. it's better when you add your flavor.

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it was the federal government which enforced desegregation in our schools which passed sweeping civil rights legislation, which has helped chip away at what martin luther king called this air tight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society. on our third story the republicans seeking to represent ohio's 16th congressional district tells an african-american voter that implementing civil rights and

diversity is not the federal government's job but a local issue. it happened last night in north canton, ohio, at a public event hosted by the republican candidate for congress jim renacci. so public it turned out even his opponent showed up and while the local paper highlighted the impromptu debate between the two candidates, the night's most important exchange came not from mr. boccieri but mr. renacci and a man named robert thompson who says he lives in the inner city and is deeply concerned about the issues plaguing his african-american community telling mr. renacci, quote, we're suffering out here. thinkprogress.org capturing what followed. >> again, i'm concerned about the civil rights and the diversity of your campaign in terms of why anybody of color should be in support of you as a congressman. ç >> well, you're talking about local issues and i'm a firm believer that the federal

government and our constitution was based on freedom and was based on the freedoms that our number one goal of our military is freedom. we need to get our federal government out of the way and we need to allow our local governments to become more involved in many of the issues you're talking about. i don't believe that these are federal issues to come down on. i mean, i believe the federal government meets its number one goal. our number one goal is to protect our freedoms. so to answer your question, i believe a lot of the things need to come back to the local level and i believe things like you're talking about do need to go back to the local level and they need to be looked at in the cities. i was a mayor of my community. i think those are important ways of looking at all of that and it's not the federal government's job. >> not satisfied with mr. renacci's response mr. thompson challenged him if it wasn't for the federal government we wouldn't have civil rights, he said. >> it took the federal government to come in and say you can't discriminate for housing. you can't discriminate for jobs. you can't discriminate with education. it took the federal government

to step in and do that. where does the local government fit into that fight. >> you're talking about the past and i agree with you. i'm talking about today. >> oh, these are going away? are you saying in 2010 we live in a society that doesn't have these woes out there? >> i'm saying in 2010 we have issues we need to bring back to the local -- >> time to call in msnbc political analyst, "washington post" associate editor, pulitzer prize winning columnist, gene robinson. good evening. >> good evening, keith. >> here we are the republicans running a parrot in the ohio 16th. he has clearly been told, campaign against the federal government no matter when you can or how often or how it might sound when you apply that argument to something like civil rights he is still going to do it. that's as stupid as saying, fighting war should be left to the states. get the federal government out of the way of ohio versus iraq. >> right. by the way, figure a way to get ohio to the war since you don't have any interstate highways. you can't drive there. you don't have any air traffic controllers.

you can't fly there. so i guess you can just kind of hurl insults across the border and, you know, this is a ridiculous position taken by a guy, a candidate who clearly didn't read past the first line of the memo.ç which the second line presumably said, but don't say anything that stupid. >> yeah. mr. renacci's argument that mr. thompson was talking about the past, that his concerns do not apply in 2010. is there a way to then try to figure out how he would explain any number of issues within the african-american community that range from poverty to the still way too high school drop out rate? >> well, i think as we just heard he would not, in fact, try to explain those issues. he didn't want to engage with that at all. look, i can, you know, spend all evening telling you how well states' rights worked in the past in the 1950s and 1960s and before. i have some experience on the subject. but right now in virginia there

is an attorney general whose first act was to try to order all the state universities of virginia to rescind or not enforce their policies against discrimination based on sexual orientation. that was his first act. so are there threats to civil rights today? obviously there are. >> and what -- to what degree is something like what mr. renacci said, how much of this is the rhetoric of everything needs to be local and how much is it that other thing that we've heard from ken buck in colorado, rand paul in kentucky, this notion that, okay. look. there is no more racism here because what kind of country could have racism and an african-american president? >> well, there is a lot of that out there. again, i'm not sure renacci got past the first sentence of the memo but others who did read the whole thing, there seems to be, i get an awful lot of this in my e-mail, essentially saying what more do you people want?

and this idea that we have passed that whole issue, the whole issue of race, not just passed an era but the whole issue, the whole question, that there is nothing else to talk about, is out there and i think being pushed in a way with the feeling that the first african-american president is ironically in a weak position to retort. >> but the what more do you people want statement is a tradition as old as this country, itself. i mean, that was -- some version of that was said in some version of e-mail in 1863 and it was said in 1963 and it got a bucket full of republicans elected in 1966.ç that tradition, which seems even new crazy is itself old crazy. isn't it? >> it is old crazy. and, you know, we've managed to get past it time and again.

but it is remarkable i think that in the year 2010 we're still facing this sort of question and this sort of frankly ignorance about the nation's past and about the nation's present. >> but, fortunately, the ignorance fostered by a bad educational system is all a local problem. >> oh, yes. >> gene robinson, "the washington post", thank you kindly there in the united states of washington, d.c. which will be all that isn't a local problem. just your community right there. >> good to talk you to, keith. >> thanks, gene. scooter libby victim of an unjust world. you know who said that? scooter libby. 225 bucks. to hear them talk about patriotism on 9/11. and they reportedly keep the money? worst persons indeed. and when rachel joins you at the top of the hour she'll talk to meghan mccain about why she called her father's runningmate sarah palin the, quote, time bomb, unquote. mary: does this dress make my backside look big?

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addressed the nation declaring the end of combat operations in iraq. the remaining u.s. forces would assist iraqi security forces, support iraqi troops and protect u.s. civilians. yesterday two american soldiers were killed and nine others wounded when a gunman opened fire on a base 100 miles north of baghdad. the american soldiers were providing security for a company commander who was meeting with iraqi security forces according to a statement from the u.s. military. the attacker was shot and killed by an american soldier. there is also news tonight of a federal appeals court dismissing a lawsuit that had sought to deny the cia the right in essence to continue the rendition of alleged terrorism suspects and imprisoning and interrogating them in other countries. for now the obama administration can still do that. we'll examine that at length tomorrow on "countdown." "worsts" and john ensign next. financing their fleet, sharing our expertise, and working with people who are changing the face of business in america. after 25 years in the aviation business, i kind of feel like if you're not having fun at what you do, then you've got the wrong job. my landing was better than yours.

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the man who blew valerie plame's cover, scooter libby, finally speaks out on the greatest injustice thus far, in 21st century america, namely, what hammed to scooter libby. that's next. but first get out your pitchforks in time for tonight's worst persons in the world. in china, she has sued 200 residents after a street accident. i was walking on the foot path under the building and suddenly a heavy object hit my head she says. i remember nothing afterwards. the heavy object was in fact a falling cat. she needed hospitalization and then sued everybody in the apartment building. by the way the cat was killed in the fall thus validating the old cliche' about not being able to swing one without hitting someone. one would hope all 200 people in the apartment sued her for

killing the cat with her head. runners up, sister bendy straws and father flana-glenn. what are the two whackiest snake oil salesmen doing? performing together in public in anchorage to, in palin's words, commemorate 9/11. by getting you to spend $225 for a prime location in their hall and a meet and greet, $73.75 for the cheap seats. at least it goes to a good cause. no? according to the washington paper "the hill" there was no indication to whom or what the proceeds will go. palin said the event was being held so one could gather with patriots who will never forget. at 225 bucks what they may never forget is the price. mr. and mrs. scam. nice. our winner senator john ensign of nevada. under investigation by the senate ethics committee for sleeping with a campaign worker who was the wife of his chief of staff and then trying to get them other jobs and cash to silence them internally investigated by the republican party for this mess that

eventually inspired other senators to force him to write a letter breaking off the affair and drive him to the fedex to make sure he sent it to her, senator ensign told business leaders in reno that they had to keep a watchful eye on elected officials. to quote him, if you don't hold us accountable, we'll do some ç real bad things in washington, d.c. senator, you think maybe that particular boat has sailed already? senator john, "uh-oh i may be naughty again" ensign, today's worst person in the world. nighttime nasal congestion meant, i couldn't breathe right.

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it takes a profound set of stones to help draw up plans to invade a country that has not attacked us then help deceive our own country into believing the war was necessary and then blow the cover of a cia agent

whose husband dared to point out one of those lies. but on our number one story irving "scooter" libby has a larger set of stones than anyone could imagine. he is now complaining without any shred of irony that the world is not just. fox news somehow nabbed an exclusive interview. richard nixon's last publicist monica crowley played the role of sympathetic host at one point suggesting in the premise of a question that the justice department's investigation of the bush white house leak led to increased american fatalities in iraq. >> i know that you had been working on the iraq surge before this ridiculous politically motivated case against you derailed your effort and actually set back the iraq surge program for years and probably cost us a lot of lives and time in iraq. >> even scooter libby couldn't let that go. he admitted the surge took place a year after he resigned from the white house. on to the subject of the danger

posed by a nuclear iran. >> do you think the bush administration made a mistake by not dealing more aggressively ç with iran when it had the chance? >> i would say back in 2003 or so there was more that might have been done with the iranian opposition for example. at that point they were seven years away from a nuclear weapon and as we know there is a lot going on inside iran. >> if only our government had had a covert operative working on nuclear nonproliferation in iran back then. >> our mission was to make sure that the bad guys basically did not get nuclear weapons. >> that of course was valerie plame, the cia agent whose cover was blown by four bush white house officials including scooter libby in 2003. the website story and cbs news confirming in 2007 that one of plame's missions was to prevent iran from building nuclear weapons. back to the libby quote-unquote interview. dick cheney's former chief of

staff actually passed on the opportunity to bash the current president's foreign policy, so she turned to the absurd witch hunt libby endured for lying about the outing of a cia agent. >> that absurd political witch hunt you were subjected to during the valerie plame case, your sentence was commuted but you never did in fact get a pardon. are you still hopeful that eventually you might get a pardon? >> well, monica, i worked 13 years, maybe 12, something like that, for the federal government on national security. in that time i met czechs who had their lives stunted under communism, kurds who suffered under the atrocities of saddam hussein. i met american families who had lost kids overseas. i learned two things from this. one is the world is not just and the second is it doesn't do a lot of good to whine. >> all right. fine. we'll concede the point. if it were a just world you'd have gone to jail for the felonies you committed. joining me now david korn

editor of "mother jones" magazine. good to see you. as far as holding the bush administration accountable for the iraq war, in a just world, fill in the bank. >> i think george w. bush would be volunteering in a hospital in baghdad. and i think dick cheney would be sponsoring 3,000 or so iraqis at his vacation home in jackson hole, wyoming. that maybe would happen in a little more just world than the one we have. >> we have seen other iraq war architects doing victory laps despite the fact that there was cf1 o is this -- was that -- last night was that the libby victory lap or the beginning of the libby victory lap? >> scooter libby is not a good poster child for the iraq war. i mean, despite what monica crowley tried to do last night he -- >> monica crowley, ph.d. >> he was found guilty in a courtroom in washington, d.c. i was there every single day covering the trial -- of lying

to fbi investigators. you know, this wasn't a political thing. the fbi guys were damned ticked off because he had lied to them when they were given the job of dealing with a very sensitive security leak. and who started that leak? it wasn't the democrats. it was the bush justice department. and it was requested by the bush cia. so this whole political thing is really not true. >> there was a great gag done by a british comedy troupe called "the young ones" totally, utterly politically incorrect that involved self-crucifixion and one of the characters telling the other one, you know, i've tried this. you can never get the last nail in yourself. it is disgusting and grotesque and offensive but when you think of people like g. gordon liddy and oliver north who committed crimes under republican administrations and become folk heroes, is scooter libby another one of these martyred republican heros? the difference is i think oliver

north and g. gordon libby were men of action. i think of illegal action but they were out in the field and g. gordon liddy talked about killing journalists. i mean, scooter libby was an arm chair warrior and neoconservatives tend not to make good folk heroes. i don't think he'll have thousands or millions of people buying his book or listening to a scooter libby talk show. >> well, yeah. and the liddy point, obviously, he has had to keep his hand over a flame. >> so much entertainment value to that. >> the first part i was having a little trouble with but as you point out that's a good card act. do we have predictions? you said you were there for every moment of the trial. is there something next for libby? was this a tv audition? is she going to write more novels about bears and cages? >> if he is going to write more novels it won't be a political thriller about a president who lies his way to war. believe it or not, i've never been in rehab, but from what i understand they advise you to take small steps. going on fox news with monica

crowley was really quite a smalç step for scooter libby and so how far it goes from here, he's been sitting in think tanks getting paid by conservative funders for the last few years. i don't see a big role for him ahead. >> but the small step, he was practically begged by monica crowley ph.d to go after the current president and he didn't. was that a small step? >> that was kind of interesting because he didn't come out like a dick cheney or a liz cheney and talk about that. so maybe that's part of his rehab. you know, small steps, scooter, small steps. you can go after the president. maybe by the time you get to hannity. >> david corn of "mother jones" a pleasure to see you in the flesh, sir. >> good to be here, keith. >> that is september 8th the 2,687th day since president bush declared mission accomplished in iraq and the 2,276th day since he declared victory in afghanistan, and the 142nd day of the deep water horizon disaster in the gulf